


Eight Times Remus Lupin Rode the Hogwarts Express

by AlmondRose



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Betting, Friendship, Gen, Hogwarts Express
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-06-06 16:11:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6760951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlmondRose/pseuds/AlmondRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>what it says, basically</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eight Times Remus Lupin Rode the Hogwarts Express

1

Remus Lupin dragged his trunk behind him. Other students jostled him as he went by, but Remus didn’t blame them. He searched for a compartment. They were all full of people who were _huge._ Remus swallowed and kept walking. He saw a lot of people while he searched. He saw a couple snogging, a couple kids who already cracked out the Exploding Snap, a redheaded girl who was crying, or almost crying, while a boy with black hair comforted her, and a few people who were weeping. Remus finally found an empty compartment at the back of the train. He struggled to get his trunk to the top, cursing his skinny arms. He managed, finally, and collapsed on a seat as the train started moving.

He wasn’t alone for long. A small and round  boy with watery eyes and a trunk opened the compartment door after about a thirty minutes.

 

“M-may I sit here?” the boy asked, a little quietly. Remus was startled for a second, then he remembered that nobody here (except Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey) knew about his...nightly endeavors.

 

“Sure,” Remus said. He helped the boy move the trunk next to his own. “I’m Remus.”

 

“I’m Peter,” the boy said. “Are you a first year, too?”

 

“Yeah,” Remus said. “Are you excited?”

 

“Oh yes,” Peter said. “Are you?”

 

“Yeah,” Remus said. “I’m real happy because I never thought I’d be able to go here. Um...because my mum’s a Muggle.”

 

“You were worried you didn’t have magic?” Peter asked, and Remus was about to answer, but then two boys burst into the compartment, laughing. The first boy had messy hair and rectangular glasses, and the second boy had long hair and a well groomed look about him.

 

“We’re sitting here,” the long-haired boy said. “Alright?”

 

“Fine with me,” Remus said warily. The boys collapsed on the seats. Remus wondered where their trunks were.

 

“I’m James,” the messy haired boy said. “That’s Sirius.”

 

“Remus, and that’s Peter,” Remus said. “Are you two first years, too?”

 

“Yup!” Sirius said. “What house do you think you’re gonna be in? I’ve decided Gryffindor, for me.”

And so it began.

 

2.

 

Remus found Peter and James in the same compartment as the first year, he was pretty sure. They had ridden in one near the back on the way home, too. Remus opened the compartment and stumbled in, sagging onto his seat gratefully.

 

“You alright, mate?” James asked, worried. “You look awful!” Remus was still recovering from a full moon, which had ended the night before.

 

“”M fine,” Remus mumbled. “Jus’ tired.”

“Sleep then, okay?” James said. Sirius came into the compartment next, looking far too happy. Without blinking an eye, he scooped up Remus’ trunk and put it up next to Peter and James’, then put his own up.

 

“I don’t _wanna_ sleep,” Remus said, his eyes half closed already. “I wanna talk to you guys…”

 

“Remus. Remus. Remus John Lupin,” James said, his voice hard. “Go. To. Sleep.”

 

“We have literally all of forever to talk,” Sirius said.

 

“We’ll wake you up when the trolley comes by, okay?” Peter squeaked. Remus nodded and yawned, snuggling into the window.

3.  


Remus heard yelling and opened the compartment door to investigate. James and Snivellus--sorry, Severus--were standing practically nose-to-nose, growling obscenities at each other while Sirius cheered them on. Remus was half-tempted to turn around and go back inside the compartment until they were done. But he didn’t, and with a long-suffering sigh he glanced longingly back inside then went out into the hallway.

 

“Guys, maybe you should--” But whatever he was going to say was drowned out by an angry redhead appearing in between the fighting boys. If Remus didn’t know better, he’d say that she’d apparated.

 

“ _There_ you are, Sev!” Lily said, grabbing onto Snape’s arm. She turned back to James. “James Potter, you leave him alone!” Snape looked gloating from behind Lily.

 

“But Evans--”

 

“Zip it,” she said. “I don’t particularly care what you were doing. All I care about is that you leave us be!”

 

“Us?” James asked, arching an eyebrow.

 

“Me and Sev,” Lily hissed. Then she reconsidered. “And Marlene.”

 

“That was just a laugh, Evans--” Sirius said, jumping into the argument.

 

“Not you too! Just leave us alone, you bullies!” And with that, Lily Evans grabbed Snape’s arm and dragged him away. James looked like he’d been hit over the head.

 

“James?” Remus asked. “You okay?” James slowly turned to face Remus and Sirius.

 

“FIne,” he said in a strangled voice and he brushed past them to the compartment. Remus and Sirius exchanged dumbstruck looks before they leapt into the compartment after him.

 

“Potter!” Sirius said, looking shocked. “Are you--”

 

“You can’t be--” Remus interjected.

 

“I thought it was a passing fancy--”

 

“Wait what?” James looked at them.

 

“What are you tossers going on about?” he asked.

 

“You’re in love with Evans!” Sirius and Remus said in unision.

 

“What?” James asked. He looked mildly horrified. “No, no I don’t, she’s just fun to mess with, and I mean sure, she’s cute, and her hair is great, and her laugh is--” He looked even more horrified. “No,” he breathed.

 

“She hates you, mate,” Remus said. “This is bad.”

 

“No, no it’s fine,” James said, seeming to recover. “I’ll woo her with my charm! She loves me, really.”

 

“James…” Remus started. Sirius looked ill. Peter barged into the compartment behind them.

 

“Sorry I’m late!” he gasped. “What’d I miss?”

4.

Remus jolted awake to the sound of someone whining. “I can’t do it anymore!” The voice was Sirius’. Remus sat up and looked around. James, Sirius, and Peter saw him awake and immediately shoved the books they were holding into their bags.

 

“What are you doing?” he asked. They all had guilt written over their faces.

“Nothing,” Sirius said too quickly. “Nothing at all.” Remus raised an eyebrow.

 

“We were researching!” Peter said.

 

“For what?” Remus asked.

 

“Umm….for um...the OWLs?”

 

“Those aren’t until the end of next year,” Remus said. “What are you guys hiding?” James sighed loudly.

 

“ _Fine,”_ he said. “I guess you’ve forced us….we’ll have to tell him.”

 

“Oh no!” Peter squealed while Sirius said, “Bloody hell, mate! Why’ve I been keeping it secret, then?”

 

“What have you been keeping secret?” Remus asked, skeptical.

 

“You’ve suspected it, I’m sure,” James said. Remus was baffled. “Well, I’ll come clean….we’ve been making you an _epic_ birthday present.”

 

“What?” Remus asked.

 

“Oh, um, yes! This present is _so cool,_ your mind will be blown!” Peter said, tittering nervously.

 

“Don’t oversell it, mate,” James said.

 

“My birthday’s not until March,” Remus said. He crossed his arms.

 

“The present’s awesome,” Sirius said. “Don’t question us.” And Remus was still suspicious, but they must have a good reason to hide it from him, so he let the matter drop.

 

“Okay, then, shall we work on the map?”

5.

Remus returned to the compartment and all three of his friends turned to face him, expectant looks on their faces.

 

“What?” he asked, pretending not to know what they were going to ask.

 

“Who’s the other one?” James asked.

 

“Other what?” Remus asked, making a show of opening his Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook.

 

“Other prefect!” James asked, tearing at his hair dramatically.

 

“Well, not Snape. I mean, they could’ve done better than the bloke they picked, but it wasn’t Snape, so all is not lost.”

 

“That wasn’t what I meant, and you know it,” James said crossly.

 

“I’m afraid I do not,” Remus said, looking up at him from over his book. Peter looked mildly terrified while Sirius looked bored.

 

“Who’s the new female prefect, Remus?” James asked slowly.

 

“Oh, her,” Remus said. He looked at his book passively. “Lily Evans.” James exploded, jumping up from his seat.

 

“YES! YES I knew it!” he said. “Of course it’s her! She’s the best witch in the school! I’ve gotta--I’ve gotta congratulate her!” He dashed out of the compartment and Sirius sighed.

 

“A Galleon says he gets hexed,” he said.

 

“You’re on,” Peter said. Remus checked his watch. There was a bang and the smell of burning sweaters and James rushed back, his face covered in hot pink smiley faces and his glasses askew, but grinning broadly.

 

“She loves me,” he sighed, slumping into his seat. Peter handed Sirius a Galleon. James scowled before brightening noticeably when Lily Evans appeared in the doorway.

 

“Oh, Evans, decided to take me up on that Hogsmeade trip?” James asked. Lily, wisely, ignored him.

 

“Oi, Lupin,” she said. “That was a minute and twenty seconds. You owe me some Sickles.”

 

“I know, I know,” Remus said, fishing in his bag. He counted out the silvers and handed them to her.

 

“Thank you,” she said, grinning smugly before she turned and walked away.

 

“What’d you bet for?” Peter asked.

 

“Oh, just how long it’d take for James to ask her out as soon as we came back,” Remus said. “I have to say, I had more faith in you, Potter. I thought there would be at least a solid two minutes.” James sputtered indignantly and Remus smiled into his book.

6.

“I’m gonna head back now, okay?” Remus said. Lily nodded.

 

“Me too,” she said. Remus shrugged and walked to the back of the train, to that compartment he and his friends--his _very best_ friends, who had done so much for him--always went in. Lily followed him. She seemed to realize what she was doing and stopped. Remus turned to face her. She looked...lost. It took a second for Remus to realize that she’d always sat with Snape, and now they weren’t friends anymore. Remus sighed.

“Hey Lily?” he asked.

 

“Yeah?” she sounded distracted.

 

“I’m pretty sure, if you can handle Pron--James, then you can come sit with us. If you want.” Her green eyes lit up.

 

“I can handle James any day,” she snorted. “And I’ve been studying up on some hexes over break. Let’s go.” Remus smiled despite the wicked gleam in her eye and followed her back to his compartment. Before they entered, she turned to him.

 

“And Remus?” she said. “Thanks.”

 

“Don’t thank me just yet,” he said. “You’ve still got to sit with James for the next few hours.” She laughed and opened the door, laughing harder when James gave an undignified squeak when she came in.

7.

Sirius shoved open the door. Remus looked up from his chocolate frog.

 

“Alright people, code Red Prongs,” Sirius said, clapping his hands. “Let’s talk betting.”

 

“Bets?” Peter asked. “For what?”

 

“For how long before Prongs and Evans start snogging, of course!” Sirius said like it was obvious. “She came and visited over the summer and _wow_ they are close to snapping. Wouldn’t you agree, Moony?” Remus pretended to think about it. In truth, he knew that Lily and James were meant to be, as James had been loudly stating these last couple years.

 

“Maybe,” Remus said, shrugging. “I mean, they have been dancing around it for quite some time.”

 

“Who has been dancing around what?” James asked, coming into the compartment with Lily on his tail.

 

“Frank and Alice,” Remus said smoothly. “When will they get together?”

 

“They were snogging back there, actually,” Lily said.

 

“Well, that answers that question,” Remus said. Lily laughed and sat down. James followed suit.

 

“Lils?” James asked. “Did you know that history was made in tthis very compartment?”

 

“What history?” Lily asked.

 

“On this day, seven years ago,” James started dramatically.

 

“Four very different boys from very different backgrounds,” Sirius continued.

 

“Met by chance in this very compartment,” Remus added.

 

“And ever since, they have tirelessly hexed and raced to make sure they would ride in this very compartment every time they went to and from Hogwarts,” Peter said in an over-dramatised voice. Lily giggled.

 

“And now the tos are over,” James said in a mournful voice.

 

“And the froms are almost over,” Remus said.

 

“And there’s an annoying redhead who wants to make out with Prongs,” Sirius said. Lily rolled her eyes and James blushed.

 

“But we have still been in here, every time,” Peter said. “The end.”

 

“You guys should keep doing this,” Lily suggested. “Every time you come in this train, come in this compartment.”

 

“Good idea,” James said. “But when will we ever come back here?” Lily shrugged.

“I dunno,” she said. “But you could do it anyway.”

 

“We will,” Remus said.

 

“Yeah,” Sirius and Peter said.

 

“Tell you what, I’ll do it too,” Lily said.

 

“It’s a plan, then,” James said. Remus liked the idea, but James was right. When would they ever come back on the Hogwarts Express again?

+1

 

Remus sighed heavily and looked towards the teachers’ compartment. He looked back towards the student section. He looked at the teachers’ compartment. He looked back again. Then he made up his mind. He went down the student section and into the compartment near the back. He put his trunk up and sat down. There was still a little bit of time before the students boarded the train. He sighed and leaned against the window. He was tired, very tired. Being in this compartment again made him sad, because James and Lily and Peter were dead, and Sirius betrayed them. Remus was the only one left. Then he remembered, oh wait, he wasn’t, because Sirius escaped Azkaban. Remus had some idea how, but he didn’t want to even think the thoughts. He couldn’t. So he fell asleep, because he didn’t think he could make the train ride awake.

 

He woke up to pitch blackness chills and voices talking.

 

“Come in and sit down--”

 

“Not here! _I’m_ here!”

 

“Ouch!”

 

“Quiet!” Remus said. He had no idea who the kids were, but he needed to get a grasp on why it was black. And cold. Maybe...no. He lit up some flames on his hand and looked around. He could see vague shapes, five kids around third or fourth year. Some flickered into the light. A girl with bushy hair, a round faced boy that resembled Frank and Alice Longbottom--Neville, then--and a red haired girl who looked younger than the others.

 

“Stay where you are,” he said. He stood up and headed for the door. But it opened before he could get close. A dementor rolled in, which threw Remus for a loop.There was a thud, and Remus saw that one of the kids had fallen from his seat, so he stepped over the kid, said, “None of us are hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks.” The dementor didn’t move, just spread it’s coldness, and Remus whispered, _“Expecto Patronum,”_ and the beginnings of a Patronus chased the dementor out of the compartment. He turned to look at the kids. Two of the kids were kneeling over the one on the floor, and Remus gasped when he saw the boy’s face. Thirteen-year-old James Potter was there, laying on the floor, with a red headed boy and the bushy haired girl hovering over him. The fifth girl--who must be siblings with the red haired boy, and were they Weasleys?--was curled up in a corner, shaking. Remus moved to stand next to Neville Longbottom, and he looked down at Harry Potter.

 

“Harry! Harry!” The girl slapped Harry’s face and he opened his eyes. Remus gasped, his eyes were the exact shade of Lily’s. He went through the motions, giving out chocolate to the kids, and telling them what the dementor was, then he left the compartment, saying something about talking to the driver, but he stopped just outside the compartment and breathed to steady himself. Harry Potter was riding in _the_ compartment. And Harry Potter had no idea who he was, had no idea Remus’s relationship with his parents, and--Remus sighed and went toward the driver. He wondered if Harry always rode in that compartment. He wondered if Harry had any idea. That’s ridiculous, he scolded himself. Harry had no idea.

  


**Author's Note:**

> comments are loved ^3^


End file.
